When most people think of biodiesel, they think of a clean and ideally cheaper fuel. Most, however, don't realize that the process to make biodiesel is largely the same as it was 100 years ago. When Dr. Jack Matson, the well-respected former Penn State environmental engineering professor who has been at the helm of the State College engineering and environmental consulting firm that bears his name for 30 years, began working with a grad student, Dheeban Kannan, 10 years ago, they strived to make improvements on the process. Specifically, they started looking at using solid catalysts instead of sodium hydroxide.

A decade later, that early research seems poised to pay off. A spinoff company called Matson Biofuels is now working with two companies in Erie--American Biodiesel Energy and Fluid Technologies-to build a system that will set Matson's process in motion and continuously produce biodiesel (rather than one batch at a time, as it is typically produced).

The innovative solid catalyst process can handle feedstocks containing high levels of water and free fatty acids without any pretreatment. Since feedstock comprises 75 percent of a typical biodiesel operation's costs, being able to process low quality feedstocks is a major coup. The technology is generating excitement and investment. Matson has received a $167,000 Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and another $140,000 from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA to build and test a one million gallon per year system.

Heading into 2011, the system design is nearly complete and testing is expected to occur early in the year. Full commercialization is planned for 2012. Meanwhile, Matson, which has already expanded its staff to put the project in motion, is working through the permitting process and seeking more investment.